$346 Million Dream: The Theme Park That Never Was – England’s Missing Disneyland

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  FURIOUS residents enraged over Britain’s inaugural Universal theme park
  

If British people wish to visit Disneyland, they must at least head to Paris – however, the UK nearly got its own competing theme park back in the 1980s.

Known as WonderWorld, this theme park received approval for development in 1981 on Priors Hall Park, which encompasses a 1,000-acre former quarry site located approximately two miles away from Corby in Northamptonshire.

The costly £346 million initiative aimed to provide a British response to Walt Disney World’s Epcot, which was unveiled to the public in Orlando back in 1982.

Similar to Epcot, this attraction would feature 13 themed areas constructed around a large central plaza with a diameter of 700 meters.

These six regions were scheduled to launch during the summer of 1992 and anticipated attracting around four million tourists annually.

WonderWorld would similarly feature advanced attractions, such as one created by Monty Python\’s team.
Terry Gilliam
, which would transport riders on a canoe journey through the human body.

If the park had opened, there would have been an open-air concert hall designed to look like one of the Martian tripods from Jeff Wayne\’s War of the Worlds and a 10,000-seat sports stadium.

In the meantime, botanist David Bellamy assisted in planning a simulated safari, while astronomer Sir Patrick Moore contributed to establishing an observatory.

There would also be educational centres, themed restaurants, a conservation area and lots of places to shop.

The theme park was only going to be the start of the resort too, as seven hotels were due to be built, as well as an 18-hole golf course, and 100 villas.

The overall ambition was to launch a new leisure industry built around \’British heritage, folklore, science and innovation\’.

In 1985, architect Derek Walker spoke to the BBC saying: \”The fundamental components of WonderWorld are quite straightforward: top-tier entertainment. It encourages participation and is immensely educational.\”

\'[WonderWorld] will showcase top-notch British design.\’

The project had an estimated total cost of £346 million and targeted an inaugural launch in 1985.

Moreover, Group Five, slated to be the developers, received backing from the nearby community as well as local governmental bodies such as county officials and the Commission for New Towns.

Nevertheless, owing to escalating expenses, scheduling hold-ups, and challenges in obtaining sustained financing, several supporters withdrew their backing.

Ultimately, the plans vanished from public attention, leaving behind just a prominent WonderWorld sign and a modest wooden cabin as the sole remnants of the whole resort project.

Currently, over 1,000 homes have been constructed on the site where WonderWorld was originally supposed to be built, with additional plans to develop approximately 5,000 more residences in the coming years.

Moreover, although WonderWorld did not manage to take off, an extensive new Universal theme park is officially scheduled to open.
open in Bedford in 2031 –
after a deal was closed by the Government.

The Bedfordshire attraction will be one of the largest and most advanced theme parks in Europe, with a 500-room hotel and a retail and entertainment complex planned along with the theme park.

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